“Market Urbanism” refers to the synthesis of classical liberal economics and ethics (market), with an appreciation of the urban way of life and its benefits to society (urbanism). We advocate for the emergence of bottom up solutions to urban issues, as opposed to ones imposed from the top down.

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Previous research on segregation stresses things like urban form and racial preferences as primary causes. The author finds that an institutional force is more important: local land regulation. Using two datasets of land regulations for the largest U.S. metropolitan areas, the results indicate that anti-density regulations are responsible for large portions of the levels and changes in segregation from 1990 to 2000. A hypothetical switch in zoning regimes from the most exclusionary to the most liberal would reduce the equilibrium gap between the most and least segregated Metropolitan Statistical Areas by at least 35% for the ordinary least squares estimates.

2. Wendell Cox, in a discussion about the relatively dispersed downtowns of the biggest mainland Chinese cities, notes that development along Beijing’s ring roads “resemble[s] more the post-World War II corridor form of Central Avenue in Phoenix than Manhattan, Seattle or Pittsburgh.” Interesting that the urban system that Cox makes a living defending is so popular in communist mainland cities, whereas the market-oriented Chinese cities of Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong follow the more traditional dense downtown design.

3. The NYT reports that the mayor’s office runs a non-profit that organizes farmers markets in rich neighborhoods that already have good food availability, while throwing up barriers and red tape that prevent private groups from starting their own in poor neighborhoods.

4. One company wants to start building prefab skyscrapers, which they claim are quicker and cheaper than traditional construction, although apparently current building codes don’t allow them to build such structures more than six stories tall. In New York City, Forest City Ratner wants to build “the world’s tallest prefabricated steel structure, a 34-story tower that would fulfill his obligation to start building affordable housing at the site,” though the building unions have opposed prefab structures “for obvious reasons,” as they put it. I’m torn on prefab stuff – on the one hand, developers seem to want to build it. But on the other, I wonder if it’s just an unfortunate side effect of our overregulated urban markets. In other words, if developers didn’t have to contend with high zoning-induced land prices and union-inflated building costs, would they still want to build prefab structures? (Although Adam tells me that aesthetically, modern prefab buildings don’t differ much from their traditional counterparts, and the picture in the first link doesn’t look half bad.) Either way, banning prefab seems like the wrong way to go – if anything, the regulations that inhibit traditional construction should be loosened so that the market can decide.

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About Stephen Smith

I graduated Spring 2010 from Georgetown undergrad, with an entirely unrelated and highly regrettable major that might have made a little more sense if I actually wanted to become an international trade lawyer, but which alas seems good for little else.

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(Although Adam tells me that aesthetically, modern prefab buildings don’t differ much from their traditional counterparts, and the picture in the first link doesn’t look half bad.)

To clarify, prefab buildings could be just as ugly as some of the conventional counterparts. I’m not a fan of the aesthetics of most residential highrises to begin with. But, just as with conventional, you can make prefab as ugly or pretty as you choose…

Now that crime is reasonably controlled, the thing that most spurs segregation are anti-segregation rules that prevent strong tracking in schools that would allow successful people to stay in cities with confidence that their kids would never come into contact with dysfunctional kids in school.

I currently live in a city, and I enjoy living here, but I’m about to have a kid. When that kid reaches school age, I have to move out, along with all my peers because there is no way I’m letting my kid go to the schools here.

Now that crime is reasonably controlled, the thing that most spurs segregation are anti-segregation rules that prevent strong tracking in schools that would allow successful people to stay in cities with confidence that their kids would never come into contact with dysfunctional kids in school.

I currently live in a city, and I enjoy living here, but I’m about to have a kid. When that kid reaches school age, I have to move out, along with all my peers because there is no way I’m letting my kid go to the schools here.

Beijing actually sees how awful its urban form is, and decided to stop with the road bonanza. Beginning last December, it started auctioning off license plates, like Shanghai, in order to curb the growth in the number of cars (about the same per capita as in New York City) and reduce congestion and pollution.